Student Reviews of the Acer C720P Touchscreen Chromebook

Once again, I have asked the same two Leyden students to review another new Chromebook model.  This time it's the Acer C720P touchscreen.  This is the fourth new Chromebook they've used as their primary device for one week and then written up a review.  Here are their previous reviews:  HP 11, HP 14, and Acer C720.  Hopefully, by the end of February, we will have a plan in place to begin replacing our current fleet of Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks.  I hope you enjoy these reviews and stay tuned for a review of the new Dell Chromebook in a week or so.  We just got them in yesterday!

Student 1 - An East Leyden Junior

My name is Bryn and I am a Junior at East Leyden High School.  I am also a first year student in the Technical Support Internship course.  In total, I have been able to test 4 new Chromebook models in an educational setting.  The opportunity was granted by Mr. Jason Markey, East Leyden’s Principal, and Mr. Bryan Weinert, the Director of Technology.

This week I tested the Acer C720P Touchscreen Chromebook.  This Chromebook has all the same specs as the Acer C720 I previously tested (click here to read my review on the Acer C720).  The only difference is the addition of a touch display.  

Since I addressed the loading time, keyboard/trackpad performance, screen, and ports of the Acer C720 in my previous post, I will use this post to address the boot time, touch display, audio capabilities and battery life of the Acer C720P.

According to Acer, the C720P has a 7 second boot up time.  I found this to be true.  The device was very quick to boot.  This 7 seconds is quicker than the Samsung Series 5 boot time of 10 seconds.  Although I mentioned web site loading time in my previous post of the Acer C720, I did want to emphasize that the loading time of this device compared to the Samsung is significant.  I found this particularly true when trying to access multimedia sites.

This is the first Chromebook I have tested that has a touch display.  It is a rather fun addition.  The touch display is precise to the touch and in most cases, I preferred using it over the trackpad.  For me, the best part of the touch screen is that I can drag the screen right or left to access previously loaded pages.  There were times, though, when the page would freeze when sliding left or right.  Overall, I believe I was able to work more quickly due to the touch display.  Due to this, I believe it could be very helpful in an educational setting.     

While the Samsung’s volume is incredibly low in both strength and sound, the Acer C720P Chromebook bypasses the Samsung with ease.  In fact, many students commented on the volume of the music I played when using the speakers or my headphones.  I definitely approve of the sound quality and strength.

The biggest downfall of the Acer C720P is the battery life.  According to Acer, the battery life is “up to 7.5 hours”.  Unfortunately for me, my Chromebook never made it to the 7.5 hour mark.  The Chromebook died before getting to last period (approx 6 hours) on all days that I was using it.  The fact is that many students use the Chromebook for non-school related purposes (ex. using YouTube to listen to music) and have multiple pages open at all times during the day.  This is a serious blow to the device when it comes to using it in a 1:1 computing environment as it may require students to bring their charger to school and possibly charge during class.  On the bright side, the recharge time was very quick.

Overall, I believe the Acer C720P is a good Chromebook for personal use and the addition of the touch screen adds an element of fun.  However, I would not recommend it for use in schools due to its limited battery life.

Student 2 - A West Leyden Senior

For the fourth time, I received a new Chromebook model to try out and review.  This time it was an Acer C720P, essentially a C720 with a touchscreen.  The color, materials, weight, size, and overall appearance were the same as the C720.  They are both dark gray aluminum, weigh lightly, and operate impressively fast.  They both have the same ports (USB, HDMI, SD), vents, and general specs.

I already covered the C720 a little more specifically in a previous review.  The focus and highlight of this C720P Chromebook was its touchscreen.  It was a nice glossy 11” HD screen, which looked better than the screen on the C720.

As soon as I saw this Chromebook, I tried thinking of cool, productive applications or programs to use with a touchscreen.  It did not come with a stylus pen, unfortunately, so I had to use the touchscreen with my finger.  It was pretty accurate, but I had to get accustomed to precisely executing maneuvers in order to write and select on the screen.

I looked in the Chrome store for applications that could be useful, and I came across Sketchpad 3.3.  This application allows the user to draw on the screen.  The problem with it was that it had a very limited canvas.  It was also kind of glitchy when I drew using certain tools.  I tried using this app as scratch paper for classes like math, and it worked okay that way.

Another application I used was express.smarttech.com.  It is a very simplified version of SmartBoard Tools.  The user can add multiple pages, kind of like adding slides in a PowerPoint, and draw on each of them.  I used this once in AP Calculus, but it was difficult to write and take notes quickly.  I resorted to regular pen and paper the next day.

As I mentioned, the real highlight of this Chromebook compared to others is its touchscreen.  I would anticipate problems with this feature because it would give our Tech Support class a new problem to deal with.  I do not know how hard the process of troubleshooting and replacing a touchscreen is, but I cannot find any settings that could provide a starting point within the OS.  I also tried a few stylus pens on the screen, but they did not work.  The idea of reducing paper consumption would work great with a device like the Acer C720P, but it needs to be at least as easy as using pen/pencil and paper, and from my experience, it was not.

I would choose this model over the plain Acer C720, but I would need to see better functionality and accompaniment for a touchscreen on a Chromebook.

Student Reviews of the HP 14 Chromebook

For the third week in a row, the same two Leyden students have been using one of the new Chromebooks that recently hit the market.  During the first week, it was the HP 11.  In the second week, it was the Acer C720.  This past week, they were using the HP 14 as their primary device.  One of the goals is to use their feedback to help the district make informed decisions as we discuss when, why, and how to refresh our fleet of 3,500 Chromebooks in our 1:1 teaching and learning environment.  We are currently in year two of using the Samsung Series 5 devices.  Here are the students' comments about the HP 14.

Student 1 - An East Leyden Junior

My name is Bryn and I am a junior at East Leyden High School and a student in the Technical Support Internship.  For the past few weeks, I was given the opportunity to test a variety of different model Chromebooks.  This week was no different as I was asked to use the HP 14 Chromebook in place of the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook for an entire week.  My mind was blown!

The aesthetics were definitely the first thing that I took notice of with the HP 14.  The HP 14 is significantly larger than my Samsung Chromebook (HP14 specs: 13.56 x 9.44 x 0.81 in.), as well as every other Chromebook I tested (HP 11 and Acer C720).  This can be both negative and positive.  Negative because the device is not as easily portable as other smaller Chromebooks.  Positive because the larger size makes the Chromebook feel more substantial and durable.  The larger size also makes the user feel like they are using a MacBook or Ultrabook.  Now to the color.  It is hard not to notice the bright “salmon” color of the exterior.  While the salmon color may not be everyone’s preferred choice of color, it looks a lot cooler than my Samsung’s dull black exterior or the Acer’s standard grey.

With each Chromebook I tested the number of ports increased and the technology used for the ports advanced.  The HP 14 is no exception.  There are eight ports: SD Card port, anti-theft port, charging port, audio port and three 3.0 USB ports. The HP14 Chromebook lasted me 2 full school days without having to charge it. Of all the Chromebooks tested, the HP has the longest battery life.

The speed of the HP Chromebook was quicker than the Samsung and the Acer C720 Chromebook. This particular Chromebook was faster with regards to boot-up time and loading internet pages.

As expected with a larger device, the keyboard was larger in width than the other Chromebooks; however, it did provide the smoothest typing experience of all.  The keys are flat and sleek but have enough depth (vertical height) to make typing easy.  This keyboard was a nice blend of the the HP 11 and the Acer C720.

I have one complaint about the HP 14: the trackpad.  While I do believe the trackpad on the HP 14 is superior to the trackpad on the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook, I did experience one issue while using it.  On multiple occasions the trackpad did not register my right and left clicks; however, the problem resolved itself after a few seconds. In any event, this is clearly very inconvenient to a user.

As a final conclusion, I am indeed impressed with the HP 14 Chromebook.  So impressed that I was extremely disappointed to give it up after a week’s time.  Of my Samsung Series 5 Chromebook and the three Chromebooks I tested (Acer C720, HP 11 and HP 14), this Chromebook is by far the nicest.  I appreciated the aesthetics, screen, keyboard and battery life.  And while I did experience a slight glitch with the trackpad, I still feel that the positives outweigh this one negative.


Student 2 - A West Leyden Senior

My name in Antonio and I am a senior at West Leyden High School in the Tech Support Internship class.  The HP Chromebook 14 is the third new Chromebook model I tested.  The one I received was colored Peach Coral, essentially a hot, bright, semi-sparkly pink.  The color caught the attention of many people, especially girls.  They said they liked it and would have liked to have gotten this computer instead of their black Samsung Series 5.  What caught my attention was the size of the device as well as its weight and appearance.

Its 14” glossy HD screen looked very nice.  It was similar to the HP 11, but the HP 14 did not quite display the colors as dark or as sharp as the HP 11.  The bezel around the screen was not glossy.  The area around the keyboard and trackpad was gray aluminium that may be resistant to common damage like cracking.  Also, the HP 14 was noticeably heavier and did not fit the case that I was able to use for all the other Chromebooks.

The feel of the individual keys was smoother on the HP 11, but because the HP 14 has more space around the keyboard, the general feel of typing was better and sturdier; the extra space serves as a wrist pad.  The bigger trackpad is also convenient for people with bigger hands.

The processing speed of the HP 14 is the same as the Acer C720, which runs very quickly and starts up in five seconds.  Sometimes, though, the HP 14 would run slowly at home while I would do homework, and it would disconnect from the network, but it is possible that my Internet connection was the culprit because it did not happen at school.

The sound was comparable to the Acer C720.  When I tested the audio on the HP 11, Acer C720, and HP 14 together, the HP 11 was the loudest and clearest, while the Acer and HP 14 gave the same slightly muffled sound that the Samsung does.  All except the HP 11 have the speakers on the bottom; the HP 11 projects the sound upward, and that gives it the advantage in sound.

One important thing I noticed was that the HP 14 updated before anyone’s Samsung.  Mine was the only one that had the Apps Icon all the way to the left on the bottom toolbar, and that was part of the update.  It seems the HP 14 has priority in updates, but I cannot conclude that from just one sample.

What I can conclude is that all three Chromebooks were better than the Samsung that every student at Leyden has.  All of them ran Chrome OS, started in under 10 seconds, and had excellent battery life of approximately 8 hours.  The differences were apparent in size, weight, screen type, speed, and ports available.

The HP 11 gave me the best first impression.  It looked very elegant in white and blue, and it was much lighter than any of the other Chromebooks.  The display and sound were both superb.  The main downside was the number of ports.  It had no Video In/Out or SD Card reader.  I experienced a connectivity issue where no access points were listed in the settings, but a simple restart fixed the problem.  One thing to be aware of is that there was a suspension of sales for the HP 11.  Supposedly, the chargers were overheating, so up to now, they are not available for purchase.

The Acer C720 did not look great like the HP 11.  It was gray and black with an aluminium top cover and black plastic bottom cover.  It had an overall rugged appearance that signified durability and resistance.  The vents were very visible and showed the large copper heatsink inside.  Although this may be great for preventing overheating, it did not look good nor did it add to the “durable” look.  The screen was not hi-resolution like that of the HP 11, and the whites looked a little greenish.  On the upside, the speed of the Acer was amazing, booting up in under 6 seconds.  It also performed online tasks more quickly than the HP 11.  HDMI, SD, and USB 2.0/3.0 ports were available on this device.

Last, but not least, the flamboyant HP 14 was really a mix of features from both of the previous Chromebooks.  Interestingly, it resembled an Apple MacBook Air.  The heatsink led to the screen hinge through a hidden vent, and the body seemed to get thinner toward the front.  The placing of the screws on the bottom was also similar to that of a MacBook.  I liked the feel of  typing on the keyboard and navigating with the trackpad.  They felt smooth and sturdy.  The screen was just like the HP 11.  The ports were just like Acer C720 except with two SS USB ports.  What separates this device the most from the others is the larger size and brighter color.  If it is decided to go with this model, I would recommend a neutral color like black and/or white.

From my experience on all these different Chromebook models, I suggest going with the HP Chromebook 11 for Leyden’s 1:1 program.  If the HP 11’s issue with the charger is not fixed, then I recommend the HP 14.  The Acer C720 would be the third option.  The reason why I pick the HP 11 is because it seems like the most practical for students to use.  It is light and compact, and produces very rich and crisp images and sound.   I am sure that outside guests would be impressed if they saw that every Leyden student had one of these.  Of course, it would be necessary to analyze the actual needs of students and teachers before making an educated choice.

Stop-motion Video With Lapse It

If you're looking for a mobile app to help you create stop-motion video, check out Lapse It.  It's available for both Android and iOS.  It's really easy to use and I've been very pleased with the features available in the free version.  Some ideas for use in schools could include the recording of a science experiment, the creation of a masterpiece in an art class,  the construction of a project in a woods class, the solving of an equation or proof in a math class, the cleaning up of a park for a service project, or even the transformation of a gymnasium into a magical homecoming dance venue.  Please comment with some other ideas.

Here is an example that I put together of my family setting up and decorating our Christmas tree.  I grabbed the finished product and dropped it into my video editing software to add the title and photos.

Student Reviews of the Acer C720 Chromebook

Last week I posted a couple Leyden student reviews of the HP 11 Chromebook.  This week I'm happy to post those same two students' reviews of the Acer C720 Chromebook.  After using the HP 11 for one week as their primary device, they each then used the Acer C720 for one week.  As a reminder, Leyden Community High School District is in its second year of being fully 1:1 with Chromebooks.  All 3,500 students currently have the original Samsung Series 5 device and we are currently discussing when it makes sense to refresh our fleet and which new model makes the most sense for our students.  The Acer reviews are below and coming next week will be the student reviews of the HP 14.

Student 1 - An East Leyden Junior

My name is Bryn and I am a Junior at East Leyden High School.  I am also a first year student in the Technical Support Internship course.  Over the past couple weeks, I have had the opportunity to test out different model Chromebooks.  This week I tested the Acer C720 Chromebook by using it in all classes in place of my usual Samsung Chromebook Series 5.

In this post, I am going to focus on comparing the Acer’s speed, keyboard/trackpad performance, screen, and ports to that of the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook.

Compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the Acer C720 Chromebook is faster.  When testing both Chromebooks side by side, the load time was about two seconds faster on the Acer C720 model.  I also compared the Acer C720 Chromebook to a desktop computer.  The Acer proved faster than the desktop.

Compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the keyboard on the Acer is more rugged.  I felt that the Acer keyboard was more comparable to a desktop keyboard: the keys were larger and the depth (or vertical movement) was greater for each key.  With regards to the trackpad, I did not experience any freezing while using the Acer Chromebook like I sometimes do with my Samsung Chromebook.  The trackpad was very responsive.

The screen of the Acer Chromebook is smaller than that of the Samsung (11.6 inches vs. 12.1 inches); however the resolution is greater (1366x768 vs. 1280x800).  One interesting aspect of the Acer is that the image on the screen appears to be tinted a silver color.  This gives the illusion that the colors are darker and that the backlight is not as bright as the Samsung Chromebook.  This did not cause any undue hardship while using the device or affect the functionality of it.  

Like the Samsung Chromebook, the Acer Chromebook has two USB ports; however, unlike the Samsung model, one is a USB 3.0 port.  USB 3.0 offers faster transfer speeds than USB 2.0.  Also absent from the Samsung model but included in the Acer is a HDMI port.  Both models have a SD card port.

The charging port on the Acer Chromebook seems to be very secure and well made, especially compared to the charging port on the Samsung Chromebook with can easily be broken.  The Acer also claims to have 8.5 hours of battery life (depending on use) which I found to be accurate.  The audio port also seems extremely secure.  In fact, I sometimes struggled to remove my earbuds.

The Acer C720 Chromebook comes with a Kensington locking feature.  This feature allows the owner to secure the Chromebook to a desk or cart to prevent stealing.  While this is a cool feature, I don’t think it would be practical for students in a high school setting whom carry their Chromebooks with them from class to class.  I don’t see many students “locking” their Chromebook to their desk each period.

As my final conclusion, I prefer the Acer C720 over the Samsung Chromebook Series 5.  I felt that I was using a more durable Chromebook that more closely resembled a laptop or desktop computer.

Student 2 - A West Leyden Senior

My name is Antonio and I am a West Leyden Senior. Right after I tried the HP 11 Chromebook, I was given an Acer C720 Chromebook.  I noticed right away the resemblance to a netbook.  The top cover was made of a seemingly durable material like aluminium.  The bottom was black plastic with obvious vents, observable speakers, and a visible copper heatsink leading to the back of the Acer.  At first glance, I did not like it.

Quite impressively, the boot-up and log-in took about 10 seconds--total.  Since I had multiple devices available at the moment (HP and Samsung Chromebook), I performed some simple, improvised tests.  I tried restarting all devices to see which one started up the quickest.  The winner was the Acer, then the HP.  Next, I tested the time it took to load up webpages.  Again, the Acer performed the best out of all three.

I also tried to find which one sounded the loudest.  Both the Acer and HP sounded loud at full volume, but the Acer did not sound as clear as the HP.  The speakers on the Acer are placed in the same location as the Samsung, giving the same muffled sound.

Another important thing is the screen.  The Acer has the same type of glare-free screen that the Samsung has.  It is not HD or glossy like the HP screen.  The bezel is glossy and thick.  

The keyboard and touchpad felt more mechanical and clicky than the HP.  I thought they were too loud, and would sound really bad as cacophony in a classroom full of typing/clicking students.  On the other hand, it makes the whole device feel more durable and resistant--more solid.

Ports are not a problem.  The Acer has USB 2.0, USB 3.0, HDMI, SD Card reader, headphone jack, and charging port.  The only downside is that the charger and charging port are about as flimsy and breakable as the Samsung.  The full-sized HDMI port can connect to a better screen or projector, but of course they must have an HDMI input.

It is similar to the HP in size and weight, and it has more than the HP in terms of ports.  In my opinion, the Acer C720 is a fast, durable device with enough for a 1:1 program at a school.  Fast boot up, excellent battery life, durability, and appearance put the Acer between the HP and Samsung.

Info about 1:1 at Leyden

Thanks to the recent post on the Education Week blog that includes Leyden Community High School District 212 as one of the 35 High Schools Worth Visiting (see #22) and suggests you visit my blog for more info, I decided to add a page that keeps track of all the resources related to what we are doing and how we are doing it.  You can find the 1:1 at Leyden page permanently linked above.

Restrict YouTube Videos To Your Domain and G+ Circles

I just learned from the Google Apps blog that if you use your Google+ identity in YouTube, you can restrict your videos to only those people in your domain or circles.  Nice!

Student Reviews of the HP 11 Chromebook

Leyden Community High School District 212 is currently in its second year of being a fully 1:1 district where all 3,500 students get issued a Chromebook.  Being one of the first three districts in the country to adopt Chromebooks for a 1:1 teaching and learning environment has come with both numerous rewards and challenges.  I suppose being an early adopter of anything puts you in that boat.  At the time we made our decision, the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook was the only option.  Since then, a number of new devices have hit the scene.  The Leyden leadership teams have just recently started discussions about when and how to refresh our devices.  In order to make well informed decisions, I have begun obtaining some of the new Chromebook models to test out.  I then turn them over to a couple of our students from our Tech Support Internship (TSI) classes to use as their primary device for a week.  I plan on posting their reviews on this blog. We'll start with the HP 11.

Student 1 - An East Leyden Junior

My name is Bryn and I am a Junior at East Leyden High School.  I am also a first year student in the Technical Support Internship course.  Last week, I was approached by Mr. Jason Markey, East Leyden’s Principal, and Mr. Bryan Weinert, the Director of Technology, about testing the new HP Chromebook 11. To do this, I used the HP Chromebook 11 for one full week in all my classes in place of my usual Samsung Chromebook Series 5.  The results could not be finer.

The first thing I noticed is that the HP Chromebook is extremely fast.  I tested the HP and the Samsung Chromebook side by side and visited a variety of websites.  The load time was much faster on the HP Chromebook than it was on the Samsung Chromebook.   I also did a side by side comparison of the HP Chromebook and a desktop computer in the TSI classroom.  Again, the load time on the HP Chromebook was much faster.

The second thing I evaluated was the keyboard and trackpad.  Compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the keyboard on the HP Chromebook is more slick and provides a smoother typing experience.  The trackpad is more responsive and does not freeze like the Samsung trackpad does.

When compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the screen on the HP Chromebook is more hi-res and is better in image and quality.  The sound quality is very crisp and as the volume increases, the sound does not get distorted or muffled.  The device is lighter, smaller, and seems more durable, particularly with regards to the charging port.

There are two features on the HP Chromebook 11 that stand out: the fan and the LCD lights. There is no fan because the processor does not require one.  The LED lights on the front face of the Chromebook lights up when powered on.  This adds a cool feature to an already sleek looking device.

I was disappointed with one aspect of the device: the battery life.  On an average day, with the Samsung Chromebook, I use approximately 50% of the battery.  With the HP Chromebook, I used at least 75% of the battery during my normal school day & activities.  This is concerning since batteries lose their charge life as time goes on.  The one positive with regards to charging is that the HP Chromebook uses a micro-usb port.  This means that you can use a traditional phone charger to charge the device if needed.

As my final conclusion, I prefer the HP Chromebook 11 over the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 due to it’s fast speed, keyboard/touchpad performance and sleek look.

Update: On Wednesday, November 13th, Best Buy & Amazon pulled all their HP Chromebook 11’s from their shelves.  Rumor has it that the charging ports were overheating.

Student 2 - A West Leyden Senior

My name is Antonio and I am a Senior at West Leyden High School.  I got the opportunity to test out an HP Chromebook 11 for a week.  The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook served as a paradigm for comparison.  My job was to use the HP as my primary device in every one of my classes as I would with the Samsung.

When it was first handed to me, I quickly noticed the difference in weight and size.  The HP was noticeably lighter than the Samsung and slightly smaller.  Although probably not as important, I liked the white and blue colors and so did my classmates.  I got reactions like, “Wow! That’s a Chromebook?” and, “I wish we had those.”  I thought white could be a good color that is stylish and not depressing.  Of course, that is just my opinion.

After about one minute (as some of my classmates stared behind me), the HP booted and logged in.  Things looked the same except for one important thing: the screen.  It was a glossy, high-definition screen without a glossy bezel like the Samsung’s bezel which can peel off.  It showed darker hues and bolder blacks.

I tested the webcam to see how it looked.  It seemed to display darker colors but blurry motion.  Compared to the Samsung, I preferred the Samsung webcam.

Along with good graphics, good audio was produced by the HP.  The speakers seemed to be placed differently so that the sound was projected upward through the keyboard instead of downward to the desk like the Samsung which produced muffled sounds.  The HP also sounded louder and clearer: almost twice as loud as the Samsung.

The responsiveness of the keyboard and trackpad were very similar to the Samsung, but the trackpad felt more “clicky.”  The size and spacing of these parts were excellent.

As I looked at the exterior of the HP, I found no Video In/Out port or SD card port.  We rarely have the need to use these ports, much less the latter, so I doubt this would cause problems.  If the need arises, though, students can share the assignment with the teacher to run it through the teacher’s device and through the projector; a USB flash drive can be used in lieu of an SD card.

Throughout the trial, I accessed websites and webpages that I normally did.  The HP seemed to access web pages more slowly than the Samsung, but the HP loaded individual elements more quickly.  For example, when I tried accessing YouTube videos, the Samsung would get to youtube.com faster, but the HP would load the videos, thumbnails and comments faster.

It is sturdier and will withstand damage that the Samsung is more vulnerable to.  Among these is the curse of the broken charging port.  Because the type of charger is shorter and firmer, it is not likely to break or damage the charging port.  The charger also fits Android smartphones, so that could be a sort of reminder for students to charge their Chromebook after they charge their beloved phones.  The HP had basically the same battery life as the Samsung.


Overall from what I have experienced, I think the HP is better than the Samsung.  It is smaller, but it does not feel cluttered or tight.  It has less ports, but they are not imperative.  It runs Chrome OS, and it does it better than the Samsung.  I recommend this device for 1:1 at Leyden.